WELCOME TO THE SECOND ISSUE of Con.WEB, a
monthly on-line magazine covering energy conservation, energy
efficiency, demand-side management and renewables in the
greater Pacific Northwest--and sometimes beyond.
Con.WEB is the cyberspace successor to Energy
NewsData's Conservation Monitor, a regional energy
conservation newsletter published in print from 1991 through
1995.

In this issue, we review a couple of key policy debates,
the demise of a once-promising conservation program and the
emergence of another, and the first wholesale "green
power" deal in the Northwest. There's more, too--just
scroll down a little further.

We also invite you to check out our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section--which will be posted by February 29. We encourage readers to
electronically share questions, comments and other
thoughts related to Northwest energy conservation and
renewables, as well as to Con.WEB.

Local Utilities Slacking--or Picking Up Slack?

Utilities Surveyed for NCAC Study Dispute Its
Conclusions

Several public utilities contacted for a
Northwest Conservation Act Coalition survey on future
conservation spending have criticized the group's conclusion
that few utilities are replacing lost Bonneville Power
Administration conservation funds with money of their own.
NCAC contacted 13 public utilities for the survey; nine had
lost BPA conservation money, NCAC reported, and six of those
failed to replace funding with money of their own.

"No publicly-owned utility in our survey had a
conservation budget sufficient to fund the [Northwest Power
Planning Council] Regional Plan targets in either 1994 or
1996," the study reads. "The notion that most
publicly-owned utilities would rise to the challenge [of
replacing Bonneville funding with local money] and fund to
levels consistent with the Regional Plan targets is clearly
untenable . . ." the survey concludes, and recommends
Bonneville act immediately "to restore funding in an
effective manner for proven conservation incentive
programs."

Among the utilities NCAC surveyed, Cowlitz County PUD was
classified by NCAC as one of the utilities that adopted flex
funding, which stretches past Bonneville conservation
allocations into future years. The survey stated such
utilities "appear to be well on their way to very low
levels of conservation funding, or even complete conservation
shutdown, when the short flex period is over."

Cowlitz general manager Leon Smith said NCAC's
conclusions are "grossly inaccurate" and
"absolutely not true." He sent a letter to
Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary (and others to whom NCAC
sent the survey) that reads in part, "As for Cowlitz
PUD, we do not plan a '. . . complete conservation shutdown'.
. . and we made this point very clear to the representative
who called . . . In general we found the 'survey' extremely
biased and in Cowlitz' case, a gross misrepresentation of the
facts."

The Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative also
criticized the survey, sending its objections to BPA
administrator Randy Hardy. Although PNGC wasn't contacted for
the survey, one of its members was. PNGC executive vice
president Dave Piper criticized the NCAC survey for failing
to mention the coop's new Energy Efficiency Program
(see related story) and pointed out the program
recommends "participating systems increase their budgets
substantially . . ." Piper also criticized NCAC for
using 1991 estimates of conservation acquisition targets and
costs. ". . . companies responsible for serving
customers in 1996 had better have a more accurate idea of
what is cost effective," Piper wrote.

NCAC executive director Sara Patton isn't surprised by
the strong responses the survey has elicited. And she defends
the survey's recommendation that Bonneville restore
conservation funding. "BPA wants everyone to think
defunding conservation is inevitable, but no one has
redrafted the Northwest Power Act yet," she said.
"If there is conservation that's cost-effective, BPA has
a statutory responsibility to make sure that's
acquired."

BPA administrator Randy Hardy said BPA is committed to
acquiring the cost-effective conservation goals of the region
and is working with utilities and the Northwest Power
Planning Council to achieve regional targets in a way that
fits with the new utility environment. But returning to a
centrally funded program, Hardy said, "is a non-starter
in this environment."

Central funding was never a hit with Cowlitz's Smith,
anyway. Cowlitz favors local control and local funding of
conservation programs, Smith said, and was dissatisfied with
the inequity of the Bonneville-run programs. "Bonneville
collected way more money from Cowlitz than we've gotten
back," he said. "We'll do conservation that's
appropriate for Cowlitz PUD and that's cost-effective for
Cowlitz PUD."

Patton said one reason NCAC did the study was to draw
attention to the fact that "the initial ideas of how
energy conservation was going to be delivered in this brave
new world aren't happening. Having utilities do it on their
own--it just isn't happening." Patton said it's an
appropriate issue to consider as the Northwest begins its
regional energy review.

Hardy seems to agree on that last point. The BPA
administrator said he hopes the regional review will come up
with a long-term solution to provide for "this public
benefit."--Jude Noland

Considering Conservation's Future

Oregon Stakeholders Discuss Fitting DSM into Competitive
Marketplace

"Conservation in a competitive world," a
Jan. 26 meeting hosted by the Oregon Public Utility
Commission, attracted a range of interest groups--from
industry representatives to government staffers to citizen
and customer groups--and generated lots of discussion on what
role conservation should play in the impending competitive
utility industry. But despite news reports to the contrary,
no consensus was reached--other than on the need for another
meeting.

"We've just kind of scratched the surface" and
more dialogue is needed, according to Ken Canon, executive
director of Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities.
"We definitely have more work to do."

But Isaac Regenstreif, public policy manager for
PacifiCorp, which brought up the issue of conservation's
future in a discussion paper released last spring, said
participants seemed to have some common goals. One is a need
for a new mechanism to deliver conservation. "[There's
a] recognition that you can't load [conservation] costs into
utility rates any more," Regenstreif said, and that
conservation's value as a cost-effective resource has been
diminished by the low cost of other forms of energy, such as
natural gas.

Five alternative scenarios for delivering conservation in
Oregon were discussed at the meeting. They include:
continuing the current method of central delivery programs
with incentive payments and funding them through a
broad-based system benefits charge; several market
transformation approaches that rely on various combinations
of efficiency standards, energy codes, customer information
and low- or no-interest loans; and instituting a system
benefits charge in conjunction with retail wheeling.

The concept of a systems benefit charge to fund
conservation generated the most discussion and raised the
toughest questions, Regenstreif said. For example, how
broad-based should such a charge be, and how would it be
collected? Should the charge be established as a one-time
transition fee that sets up a trust fund to finance future
conservation expenditures, or as a longer-term system
benefits charge levied at the distribution level as a
mechanism to fund numerous measures? And what about natural
gas--should a similar charge be levied on gas customers?

These issues will be taken up again at the group's next
meeting on March 1. For a summary of the Jan. 26
meeting, e-mail Jim Litchfield at
lcg@europa.com.--Jude Noland

Bye-Bye, Emerald Conservation Power Plant

BPA Discontinues Funding for Emerald PUD'sNovel
Energy-Saving Program

Emerald PUD's landmark conservation "power
plant" was christened three years ago amid great hopes
for a long and successful existence. Now it appears the
project will be successful, but not long-lived.

Bonneville Power Administration, which finances the CPP
under a 1993 agreement with Emerald, plans to discontinue
funding the project beyond the current fiscal year's
allocation of $1.4 million. That would bring BPA's total CPP
funding to $2.4 million--far short of the $17 million
over 11 years originally envisioned to save 3.4 average
megawatts in Emerald's predominantly rural service territory
in Oregon's Willamette Valley.

"We're just not in an acquisition mode [for
resources] anymore," explained Ray Classen of BPA's
Southwest District office in Vancouver, WA.

BPA, buffeted by increasing competition in the wholesale
power marketplace, now projects a resource surplus through
the year 2000. The agency has already jettisoned several
proposed supply-side resource acquisitions, most notably the
248-MW Tenaska project near Tacoma, and has stopped funding
new centralized conservation programs in the region.

Although the Emerald CPP contract remains in effect and
the project conceivably could be resurrected, Classen
confirmed Bonneville expects to end its funding after the
currently approved money is spent.

"The effect of Bonneville's action is to terminate
their long-term commitment and they've given no indication
that they intend to re-establish that," said Emerald PUD
general manager Jeff Shields. He blasted Bonneville for
"pulling the rug out from under us" just as the CPP
was blossoming.

Emerald's CPP was heralded in 1993 as a potential model
for BPA-funded conservation in rural areas
(see Conservation Monitor, July/August 1993). Under
the novel arrangement, Emerald pursues energy savings in its
own fashion among residential, commercial and industrial
customers. As an example, said Emerald's Alan Zelenka, the
PUD has pushed weatherization for existing mobile homes--the
housing stock for roughly 25 percent of Emerald residential
customers.

BPA, meanwhile, purchases the conservation by paying
principal and interest on tax-exempt bonds sold by the Oregon
Department of Energy's Small Scale Energy Loan Program. Total
bond funding so far is $2.4 million, according to ODOE's Dave
Stevens.

To date, conservation through the CPP has come in at an
average cost of 2.35 cents/kilowatt-hour (1990
dollars)--well below the target of 3 cents/KWh (also 1990
dollars). Bonneville's Classen acknowledged the CPP as
cost-effective, but reiterated, "We're not looking for
new resources."

Shields and Zelenka condemned Bonneville for withdrawing
CPP support while continuing to buy more expensive power
(about 3.5 cents/kilowatt-hour in fiscal year 1995) from
the WNP-2 nuclear plant in south-central Washington. They
believe those actions contradict public opinion in the
region.

Despite the demise of the CPP, Emerald will continue
energy-saving endeavors, mindful of a recent PUD customer
survey in which 83 percent of respondents picked
conservation as their top resource choice for the utility.

In mid-February, the Emerald PUD board of directors
approved a $1.25 million annual budget for conservation over
three years beginning in January 1997. Zelenka said 55
percent of the money will come from utility revenues, and the
rest will be borrowed.

There will be three major changes from the CPP, Zelenka
said. Emerald's cost-effectiveness target will be
2 cents/KWh (1995 dollars). Customer payments for
efficiency improvements will be increased, from zero to
40 percent for residential and from 20 to 30 percent for
commercial/industrial. And the PUD will offer a variety of
enhancements, including programs for solar water-heaters,
residential compact fluorescent lights, geothermal heat pumps
and amorphous core transformers.

"It's certainly not the largest conservation program
in the country, but given the nature of the industry and
Emerald's competitive position in that, I think it's
responsible," said Shields.--Mark
Ohrenschall

Salem Turns Green

Oregon Cooperative Plans to Buy Wind-Generated Green
Power from Bonneville Power Administration

An Oregon cooperative utility is coloring itself a
distinctive shade of green.

Salem Electric--seeking to promote renewables development
in accordance with customer interest--plans to buy
7 average megawatts of wind-generated "green
power" at a premium price from
Bonneville Power Administration.

This would mark the first wholesale green power deal for
BPA and the Northwest. It would also (in theory if not in
actual electron flow) give Salem the distinction of being
entirely reliant on renewable resources: the cooperative is a
full-requirements customer of BPA, which derives
83 percent of its power from hydro; the green-power
acquisition would equal 17 percent of Salem's total load.

Under the proposed agreement, Salem would buy the
7 aMW from Bonneville for five years at a price of 3.5
cents per kilowatt-hour. The price includes transmission,
load-following, load-shaping, reserves and other services.
Bonneville may provide the power from its share of the
proposed 25-megawatt Columbia Wind Farm No. 1 in
south-central Washington and/or the proposed 68.1-MW Foote
Creek Rim wind-energy project in Wyoming, both of which are
now under environmental review.

The proposed agreement, approved by the Salem board of
directors Jan. 10, came nearly a year after BPA first began
considering a special offer "to take advantage of the
demonstrated demand at the retail level for an all-renewables
kind of product," said Bonneville's George Darr. Selling
green power also was seen as a way to help sustain
Bonneville's participation in four renewables projects--the
two wind farms and two proposed geothermal plants--in spite
of the agency's budget cuts.

The terms--relatively short duration, no project
ownership and billed only when the green power is
delivered--are also intended to minimize utility risk,
according to BPA account executive Paul O'Neal. "What we
want to be able to do is demonstrate the viability of the
product, get people involved in it, then work with these
people during these next five years to basically craft a
long-term arrangement [and] possibly add additional resources
later on," he said.

For Salem, the green power arrangement reflects the
cooperative's long-standing support of conservation and
renewable resources. Last spring, according to engineering
and operations manager Roger Kuhlman, a 20-customer focus
group "was very favorable to becoming involved in
renewables." A subsequent customer survey soliciting
opinions on green power indicated about 80 of
100 respondents favored the idea and were willing to pay
up to 4 percent more in rates for it.

In fact, though, Salem intends to go green without
raising its rates. At the current BPA average priority-firm
wholesale rate of 2.71 cents/KWh, Kuhlman explained, the
green-power purchase would cost Salem an additional
$500,000 annually. However, BPA's proposed reduction in
its average PF rate to 2.49 cents/KWh would lower Salem's
annual BPA bill by $900,000. The cooperative could then
finance its green power and also earmark an additional
$400,000 for conservation--both while keeping retail
rates stable.

The Salem-BPA agreement has yet to be turned into a
signed contract, but officials from both entities foresee no
great difficulties. The purchase could officially start as
soon as Oct. 1, depending on the availability of
Bonneville's renewable resources.

In addition to Salem, several other BPA customer
utilities have expressed interest in green power, according
to Darr, although none have made commitments. "We have
visions of this being an ongoing product," he
said.--Mark Ohrenschall.

The Customer is Royalty

New PNGC Energy Efficiency Program:
Customer-Focused, Market-Based

An energy efficiency program touted as customer-focused,
market-based, flexible and just plain sensible for all
involved has been unveiled by Pacific Northwest Generating
Cooperative.

PNGC's new Energy Efficiency Program allows participating
member cooperatives to choose from among eight subprograms in
the residential, commercial, industrial and irrigation
sectors. The co-ops pay a monthly fee to PNGC and can use the
subprograms (with numerous options) as they see fit,
tailoring them to the needs of their own customers.
Participating utilities also can employ centralized services,
such as advertising/marketing, electronic
information/communications and technical support.

Four Oregon cooperatives had signed up as of mid-February--
Blachly-Lane County Cooperative Electric Association,
Consumers Power, Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative and Umatilla
Electric Cooperative--and PNGC's Phill Sher expects more to
join them. He also anticipates offering the program soon to
non-PNGC members.

"Our interest is . . . not to do conservation needs
for the power system, but to meet the needs of our customers,
the retail consumer," said Sher. In doing so, he added,
"We'd get plenty of Bonneville (Power Administration) or
(Northwest Power Planning) Council-defined conservation along
the way."

Developed over the past 18 months in response to
BPA's conservation reinvention, the PNGC program places top
priority on the customer side of the meter. For example,
"If someone wants something that is expensive, we may
not recommend it [but] we'll see that they get it," said
Sher. That could include, say, custom-built but thermally
efficient windows for a home.

"Different consumers have different needs and
wants," said Sher. "They're our member-owners;
we're here to serve their needs." Retail customers have
a "much higher threshold" for conservation
cost-effectiveness than utilities, he noted, since retail
rates generally are twice as much or more than current
wholesale power costs of about 2 cents/kilowatt-hour.
Sher also cited the potential for creative alternatives to
cash rebates, such as line-extension discounts for a new
energy-efficient home or a year's free power for a certain
energy-saving appliance.

Another important program feature is inclusiveness.
Consumers, utility staff, contractors, manufacturers,
Bonneville and PNGC all can play constructive roles, Sher
said. BPA, for example, could offer commercial/industrial
audits, or provide technology updates. Manufacturers might
help sponsor training programs for local HVAC contractors.

John Shearer, whose consulting firm developed the program
for PNGC, stresses the importance of engaging local providers
of energy services and products. "In a competitive,
market-based environment, the only way you can really test an
effective program for energy efficiency is if the trade
allies are involved in it," he said. Those trade allies
mainly want opportunities to sell their products and
services, not just wait in line for utility money. In fact,
said Shearer, "There's a whole black market going on out
there in conservation that [utilities are] not involved in
anyhow." Even when BPA conservation budgets were flush,
he claimed, they met only a quarter or less of the total
regional demand for energy efficiency.

Many consumers, meanwhile, are willing to invest their
own money for efficiency and not rely on rebates or
low-interest loans, according to Shearer.

"The biggest thing we tried to do [with the program]
is put it on a business footing . . . and to understand what
was happening in the marketplace," he said, with the
idea of accomplishing equal or greater savings and spending
less money.

One of the first four participating cooperatives,
Coos-Curry, signed up for all subprograms except irrigation,
according to consumer services manager George McMullen.
"We're going to have a lot more consumer contact with
our customers," he said. For example, co-op staffers
plan more home visits, using such hands-on techniques as
bringing in test equipment to show electric consumption for
appliances. Coos-Curry also is looking into low-interest
financing of measures that reduce energy demand and/or
consumption and are cost-effective to consumers.

"We figure it's a lot more cost-effective [than BPA
programs] and that's why we're doing it this way," he
said. "We're getting the administrative load out of the
dollar."

For more information on the PNGC program, call Sher at
(503) 288-1234.--Mark Ohrenschall

Keeping Industrials Happy--and Plugged In

Providing customer-focused energy efficiency services to
industrial firms can help electric utilities retain these key
(but potentially restless) customers as the competitive era
unfolds, according to a November 1995 report by The
Results Center. "Industrial Efficiency Programs:
Building Strategic Partnerships" explores many of the
demand-side management challenges as well as opportunities
facing utilities serving industrial customers.

Industrial firms clamoring for low power rates are
driving electric industry restructuring, the report notes.
They are already the "least captive" of utility
customers, with viable options for special contracts,
fuel-switching, self-generation and cogeneration. Retaining
these large energy users--which consume about a third of the
nation's electricity--is critical for many utilities.

Industrial DSM programs, by and large, have neither
acquired significant amounts of the potential energy savings
nor gained the confidence of manufacturers.
"Historically, the industrial sector has been the
'stepchild' of utilities' DSM efforts with most of the
limited efforts concentrated on load management rather than
on energy efficiency," the report says. In 1993,
for example, industrial energy savings accounted for only
17 percent of the national total.

For their part, many industrialists object to the rate
impacts, cross-subsidies and competitive disadvantages
inherent in traditional DSM. Energy also represents a small
cost to many industrials--typically 2 percent of total
operating expenses--and often is viewed as relatively
insignificant. In fact, according to one observer quoted in
the report, energy efficiency generally ranks behind employee
safety, compliance with environmental regulations and greater
productivity among industrial priorities.

However, the report does cite some low-cost success
stories with conventional DSM. Among many others, Bonneville
Power Administration,
B.C. Hydro and Puget Sound Power and Light have run
industrial conservation programs for
2 cents/kilowatt-hour or less.

And for the era of intensifying competition, the IRT
report also investigates ways in which DSM can benefit both
utilities and industrial customers.

Fundamentally, utilities must shift their focus from
resource acquisition to satisfying industrial customer needs.
Developing partnerships founded on trust, respect and
credibility is critical to this process.
B.C. Hydro has done so with its Process Improvements
program, which relies on "relationship marketing"
with a third-party contractor along with customized
incentives. As a result, " . . . the utility is seen as
a partner, an 'energy expert' poised to help customers
increase their productivity and to ultimately become more
competitive."

Other Northwest approaches valued by industrials--according to John Hughes of the national large industrial
customer trade group ELCON--include the information services
of Portland General Electric's Energy Resource Center, the technology transfer of
Washington State Energy Office's MotorMaster program and
the customer repayment features of PacifiCorp's Energy
FinAnswer program
(see Conservation Monitor, January 1995).

The report suggests a number of potential strategies and
services for utilities:

Rate discounts bundled with energy efficiency, as
Detroit Edison has done with the Big Three automakers.

Better price signals (such as interruptible and
time-of-use rates) to reflect the real costs of power.

Energy conservation has contributed to an 11-percent
decline since 1982 in average residential electric use per
customer in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to
Energy NewsData's Clearing Up newsletter.
Weather-adjusted figures from the
U.S. Department of Energy show the average
Northwest home used 13,820 kilowatt-hours per year as of late
1995, down from the most recent peak of 15,566 KWh in 1982.
Higher electric prices in the early 1980s, the adoption of
more energy-efficient building codes in Northwest states, and
utility and customer conservation efforts are cited as three
primary reasons for the trend toward reduced per-capita
residential electric use.

OMECA Beats Energy-Saving Goal, Cost-Effectiveness
Target

The Oregon Municipal Energy and Conservation Agency not
only beat its energy-saving goal, but also its
cost-effectiveness target from September 1994 through
September 1995.

OMECA's six member utilities acquired 2.6 average
megawatts (123 percent of their targeted savings) at an
average cost of 1.6 cents/kilowatt-hour
(1993 levelized dollars), well below the
2.3 cents/KWh goal. Financed by Bonneville Power
Administration, OMECA consists of municipal utilities serving
the communities of Ashland, Forest Grove, McMinnville,
Milton-Freewater, Monmouth and Springfield. (For more
information on OMECA, see Conservation Monitor,
January 1995.)

Oregon's Salem/Keizer School District plans to make
energy-saving lighting improvements in 36 of its
56 buildings this year, with financial assistance from
state government and the local utility. Total annual energy
savings are projected at 4.78 million kilowatt-hours
(more than .5 average megawatts).

Oregon's second-largest school district in January
received a $1.3 million line of credit from the state
Department of Energy's Small Scale Energy Loan Program. In
addition, Portland General Electric is providing
about $462,000 in rebates for the work.

"With the money we save from utility cost
reductions, we can repay the credit line and eventually fund
future energy savings programs," said Frank Corder,
Salem/Keizer's facilities project manager. He expects the
lighting improvements to be completed by mid-March.

PGE's Energy Resource Center Closes, but Many
Services Still Available

Portland General Electric's Energy Resource Center
officially closed at the end of 1995, but a number of
services and resources will still be available in
1996 for PGE customers, trade allies, educators and the
general public.

A Technical Support Services team has been formed to
provide technical support to customers, design professionals,
vendors and trade allies regarding PGE programs, products and
services. The ERC library has merged with PGE's corporate
library and business information center in downtown Portland
and is available, by appointment, to PGE customers and
professionals doing business with PGE. Educators and the
general public also have access to certain materials.

PGE's Lighting Demonstration Lab in downtown Portland
will continue operations in 1996, offering consultations,
training, seminars, demonstrations and mock-ups for nominal
fees. And the ERC facility in suburban Tualatin is available
anytime for PGE-sponsored training and marketing events;
other events can be booked weekday nights and weekends.

For more information on these services and resources,
contact Roy Josi at (503) 464-7661, phone;
(503) 464-7653, fax; or
roy_josi@pgn.com, e-mail.

Renewable energy sources and energy-efficiency measures
should be the top priorities for federal energy research and
development funding, according to a December telephone survey
of 1,000 random voters nationwide.

Commissioned by the
Sustainable Energy Budget Coalition, the survey showed
that 34 percent of respondents believed renewable energy
should be the highest funding priority for the
U.S. Department of Energy's R and D budget. Energy
efficiency was next, with 21 percent support as the top
priority. R and D on natural gas, fossil fuels and nuclear
power each garnered 9 percent support. In addition, 75
percent of respondents indicated a willingness to pay
anywhere from 2 percent to 10 percent more for
electricity generated from renewable sources.

BPA Takes Conservation Dispute with Chelan to Court

Bonneville Power Administration has gone to court to
recover some $380,000 it claims Chelan County PUD owes for
Manufactured Housing Acquisition Program (MAP) incentive
payments BPA claims it made on the PUD's behalf to
manufacturers of energy-efficient manufactured homes sited in
Chelan's territory.

The court complaint, filed Feb. 1 in U.S. District
Court in Spokane, is the next step in a long-running
disagreement between BPA and Chelan PUD that stems from the
PUD's December 1993 decision to stop buying firm power from
BPA. That decision triggered termination provisions in the
PUD's conservation contract with BPA, which specified Chelan
would have to repay Bonneville for the remaining value of
BPA-funded conservation in the PUD's service area.

Chelan has already paid Bonneville about $458,000 in such
termination charges. The PUD believes it doesn't owe
BPA anything more, while BPA contends it calculated the
termination charge properly and, therefore, Chelan still owes
the balance of the charge.

BPA and Chelan have been trying to resolve their
disagreement for more than nine months in an attempt to avoid
going to court
(see Conservation Monitor, June 1995). "We didn't
seem to be getting to an amicable agreement, so we decided to
initiate a battle of the briefs," said Chelan DSM
programs manager Mike Green. Chelan has 60 days to file its
response to BPA's complaint--Jude
Noland

Stakeholders Meet to Lay Groundwork for Idaho
Commercial Energy Code

A Jan. 24 meeting on establishing a commercial energy
code in Idaho attracted 29 diverse individuals and resulted
in some progress.

The meeting was productive, according to Idaho Department
of Water Resources energy conservation bureau chief Ken
Baker, who acted as facilitator.

By the end of the three-hour session, the group had found
its purpose--to develop a statewide commercial energy code and
implementation plan that's appropriate for Idaho; identified
its objectives--to inform the 1996 state Legislature of its
intent to develop the code and present legislation to the
1997 session; and come up with some criteria for any proposed
code--make it simple to understand and apply, as well as
cost-effective; include a baseline of energy performance; and
make sure it allows for creative design and construction.

The group, whose membership includes representatives of
Idaho Power, Intermountain Gas, Northwest Power Planning
Council, Oregon Public Utility Commission, IDWR, Idaho
Bankers Association, CH2M HILL and Oppenheimer Development
Corp., met again Feb. 22; results of that meeting will
be posted on
IDWR's World Wide Web home page .

Training Schedule Available for Washington NREC

This is the last year the Utility Code Group is offering
free training for builders, architects, design engineers,
building officials and others who need to get up to speed on
Washington's non-residential energy code. UCG has published
its schedule of winter/spring classes, which are taught by
professionals from the building design, construction and
enforcement communities and are offered at locations
throughout the state. The classes range from a short course
on complying with the NREC to a comprehensive review of its
components, along with specific training on building, design
and installation strategies. UCG also provides exam
preparation classes for NREC plans examiner and inspector
wannabes. For more information or a brochure describing the
winter/spring classes, call the Utility Code Group at (206)
644-4143 or (800) 700-NREC.